OSU partnership benefits student-athletes

FCMH orthopaedic physicians assist local high schools

Staff reports

Dr. Mark Conroy (left), team physician for Washington High School, has treated WHS student-athlete Brian Wilson weekly, which returned Wilson to the basketball court promptly.

Fayette County Memorial Hospital (FCMH) partnered with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center to bring the most knowledgeable sports medicine physicians and orthopaedic surgeons in the field to FCMH in 2015, FCMH officials said. Included in this partnership is the collaboration with the local high schools’ athletic departments.

The local high schools benefit from coordinated treatment of injuries, recovery monitoring and return to play progression. Dr. Mark Conroy is the team physician for Washington C.H. High School (WCHS) and coordinates care with FCMH athletic trainer, Josh Wiemels. Dr. Kelton Vasileff is the team physician for Miami Trace High School and coordinates care with Denise Bain, FCMH athletic trainer.

Both Dr. Conroy and Dr. Vasileff see student-athletes weekly at their respective high school that the athletic trainer or coaches feel need to be seen by a physician. “The best thing about being able to see the athletes in their setting is that it doesn’t interfere with their day to day schedule and allows them to feel comfortable seeing a doctor in a familiar environment. My hope is that by seeing some problems early on that the athletic trainer and I can change their mechanics or start therapy earlier in order to keep the student playing their sport. By catching some problems earlier, hopefully we can prevent more serious injuries that might end their season,” said Dr. Conroy.

A great example of this is WCHS student-athlete Brian Wilson. Recently Wiemels referred him to Dr. Conroy. After his first initial visit in office at FCMH, Dr. Conroy saw him weekly in the training room along with Wiemels and coordinated additional therapy services at FCMH. The result of this coordination of care returned Wilson back to the basketball court promptly.

“I play soccer, basketball and baseball. I don’t want to miss a game and be down with an injury. I returned to play basketball quicker than I had expected, thanks to Dr. Conroy, Josh and the therapy department at FCMH,” said Wilson.

“The training room visits are also really helpful for me to more frequently monitor the progress of athletes I’ve seen in the office. A weekly check-in is much better than four to six week return office visits,” said Dr. Conroy.

The student-athletes’ injuries vary – some of the more common are knee or ankle pain and concussions. Based on the injury, the physician prescribes rest or a physical therapy regime with the athletic trainer. If the injury is more severe and requires additional testing such as an x-ray, the physician then recommends the athlete to make an appointment with them or a colleague at their office at FCMH.

“As a sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon, I enjoy taking care of athletes of all different ages, including high school students. We work closely with the athletic trainers at these schools to help treat our student-athletes and return them to play as soon as possible. A part of that is visiting the training rooms at the schools to see athletes with new injuries, those rehabbing older injuries, or recovering from surgery. These visits are great adjuncts to our scheduled clinic time in the office to help serve the community,” said Dr. Vasileff.

Fayette County Memorial Hospital is a critical access hospital (25-bed hospital) with over 30 healthcare providers, complete with a full spectrum of healthcare services.

This article was submitted by Fayette County Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Mark Conroy (left), team physician for Washington High School, has treated WHS student-athlete Brian Wilson weekly, which returned Wilson to the basketball court promptly.

http://recordherald.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_IMG_0753.jpgDr. Mark Conroy (left), team physician for Washington High School, has treated WHS student-athlete Brian Wilson weekly, which returned Wilson to the basketball court promptly.